Sermon & Translation by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer
Church, Manhattan, KS, 5 Mar. 2023
Omitting
the greyed-out text should bring presentation
time down to about 40 minutes.
In the first four verses of James, we saw that God allows different kinds of tests to come our way, and that these tests are intended to give us the opportunity to show that our faith in Him is genuine and to give Him the opportunity to mature us so that we will be more complete. But what if your ability to “consider it all joy,” or your “knowledge” about these trials isn’t what it should be? How do make it through a trial then? And what if our circumstances compellingly lead us to think there is no point in trusting God or no need to trust God. In verses 5-12, God reminds us through the apostle James that we need faith to ask God for wisdom and we need faith to act with an eternal perspective in order to be successful in trials, and that there is a crown of eternal life waiting for us on the other side!
Read
my translation of the passage:
From James, a
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One. Cheers to the
12 tribes which are in the dispersion. Start considering it to be
all joy, my brothers, whenever you happen to encounter various
trials, knowing that the testing for genuineness of your faith has
the outworking of steadfastness. But that steadfastness must have a
complete effect in order that you may be complete with integrity,
lacking in nothing. Now, if someone among y’all is lacking
wisdom, let him be asking from God – the one who gives to all
generously without fault-finding, and it will be given to him. But
he must ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who is doubting
is wind-blown and tossed like a storm-wave at sea, so that man must
not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. But let the lowly
brother boast in what is his that is on high, but the rich in what
is his that is lowly, because he will pass on like a grass-flower,
for the sun rises, together with the scorching-wind, and withers the
grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its presentation
perishes; thus also the rich man will be faded out in his pursuits.
A man who is steadfast in a trial is blessed, because, after he has
proved himself genuine, he will receive the crown of life which the
Lord promised to those who love Him.
Now, if someone among y’all is lacking wisdom, let him be asking from God”
The Greek first-class conditional grammar here indicates that James thinks it is true that some of those Christians were lacking in wisdom. (ATR)
And the Greek present tense “asking” implies more than one occasion when you will have to ask for God’s wisdom.
But why ask God? Because...
God is a giver:
God gave us His Son (John 3:16 “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”)
God gave us His Spirit (Acts 5:32 "... God has given the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him." and many other passages). He is...
Rom. 15:5 “...the God who gives perseverance and encouragement…” (NASB)
1 Cor. 15:57 “...God, the one who gives the victory to us...”
2 Thess. 2:16 “….God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope...” (NASB)
James 4:6 “...God gives grace..." (NASB)
1 John 3:1 “...what a love the Father has given to us …” (NAW)
1 John 5:11 “...God gave eternal life to us…” (NAW)
Prov. 2:6 “...the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding…” (NKJV)
And this God gives to ALL – He doesn’t discriminate against women or against children or against Africans, He entertains all requests from anyone who asks in faith.
And He gives to all generously/liberally/whole-heartedly. God is not holding-out on you or giving you the least He can get away with. He will not give you only part of what you need and leave you to your own resources to come up with the rest. He will give all that you need.
And He will do it “without reproach/upbraiding/faultfinding.” There are 2 possible meanings:
One interpretation is that Jesus will not accuse you falsely of wrong motives, or belittle you harshly and heap verbal abuse on you. This Greek word for “reproach/ faultfinding” is used in that sense...
in Matthew 5:11 “Y'all are being blessed whenever liars reproach you and hunt [you] down and speak every evil against you for my sake,”
and in Matthew 27:39-44, which links this word for verbal abuse with the Greek words for “blaspheming” and “mocking” that people did to Jesus when He died on the cross: “And those passing by were blaspheming Him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘The one who demolishes the temple and who builds [it] within three days, save yourself! Since you are the Son of God, come down from that cross!’ Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders were also mockingly saying, ‘He saved others; He is not able to save Himself! Since He is King of Israel, let Him come down now from His cross, and then we will believe on Him! He has been trusting in God; let Him rescue Him now – if He wants Him, for He said that He is God's Son!’ And also the robbers crucified together with Him were reproaching/insulting/upbraiding Him just the same.” (NAW)
So, according to this Biblical meaning of the word, the application is that God is not going to taunt you over your lack of wisdom and make fun of you and criticize you harshly and unfairly if you ask Him for wisdom. And that’s true.
However, we must recognize that there are two occasions in the Gospels when this very word is used to describe something that Jesus actually did say to His listeners!
Matthew 11:20 “Then [Jesus] began to reproach/upbraid/find fault with/denounce the cities in which most of His miracles occurred, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin, Woe to you Bethsaida, because if the miracles which occurred in y'all had happened in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago with sackcloth and ash. Moreover, I'm telling y'all, for Tyre and Sidon it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment than for y'all. And you, Capernaum, you won't be lifted up to heaven will you? You will be brought down as low as Hell, because if the miracles which occurred in you had occurred in Sodom, it would have remained until today. Moreover, I'm telling y'all, that for the land of Sodom it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment than for you!’” (NAW) That sounds like a taunt; what do we make of that?
Mark 16:14 “Later He appeared to the eleven [disciples] as they sat at the table; and He rebuked/upbraided/reproached their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” (NKJV)
When Jesus did “reproach” His followers, what were the circumstances? Both times it was when they failed to believe what He had said.
Jesus didn’t pick on the weak1, but Jesus did have strong words for those who heard the truth about Him and refused to believe it.
He also had strong words against those who were actually doing wrong things. And that’s what I think the meaning is here: I think James, under Divine inspiration, is telling us that it’s not wrong to ask God for wisdom. God is not going to scold you for that. Asking God for wisdom when we don’t know how to get through a trial is not a failure of faith, it IS faith2! Praying like that, is the very way we trust God, so we should ask for wisdom boldly and without fear of Him shaming us for asking.
And what’s the alternative? “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of…” the government? Social media? Health care professionals?
No human being is capable of giving “wisdom to all generously and without reproach.” That’s why we should go to God, rather than man, for wisdom when we need it!
(Of course that doesn’t mean you should only expect God to speak out of the sky and never ask a question from any other human whenever you need to know something. What it means is that, as soon as you realize you need wisdom, you pray and ask God first for it, and then you ask whatever questions of other people is reasonable, and when somebody gives you helpful information, thank God for directing you to the right place and giving you the wisdom you need. But sometimes the answer will come directly into your thoughts without you having to ask anybody else, and you can thank God for that too!)
Is this not what God encourages us to do throughout all of Scripture?
Proverbs 2:3-6 “...if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom…” (NKJV)
Jer. 29:12-13 “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (NKJV)
Matt. 7:7-11 “Continue to ask, and it will be given to y'all. Continue to search, and y'all will find. Continue to knock, and it will be opened up to you. For every one who is asking is receiving, and the one who is searching is finding, and to the one who is knocking it is being opened up! Now say there's a man from among y'all whose son is going to ask for bread; what will he hand to him – it won't be a stone, will it? Or say he's going to ask for a fish; [what] will he hand to him – it won't be a snake will it? Therefore, if y'all, while being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to the ones who ask Him?” (NAW)
John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (NKJV)
And, note that what is recommended that we pray for is not necessarily that the hardship should be removed, but that we might have wisdom.
Wisdom might call for asking God to remove the hardship,
but on other occasions, wisdom might call for enduring a hardship and thus to pray instead for a good attitude and an eternal perspective.
But v.6 says we must ask “Without doubting/without wavering/misgivings/hesitating” – each shade of meaning of this Greek word has its own application:
“Wavering” means: sometimes you trust Him, sometimes you don’t.
Now God told us through Isaiah, that Jesus would be gentle with the weak (Isa. 40:11) and would not snuff out the guttering wick or break the bruised reed (Isa. 42:3) – both of which are wavering things,
but if your trial is over whether or not you’re going to eat all 12 of the donuts in that Krispy Kreme box in one sitting and make yourself sick, and if you put it out of sight with a prayer for wisdom, and then you pull it back out and say, “I don’t care what God thinks, I’m going to eat them anyway,” God could stop you by sending your sister into the room to talk you down, but often God just lets us suffer the consequences of our foolishness. You can’t expect God to intervene if you don’t really want Him to.
But if we submit ourselves to God in faith, like Abraham did, when God promised him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, even though he was childless and too old to have a child, Romans 4:19-21 tells us: “[N]ot being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver [διεκρίθη] at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” (NKJV)
Note that Abraham and Sarai did doubt God initially (Gen. 17), but the overall trend of their lives was to trust God, and God still strengthened their faith with wisdom. You don’t have to be perfect!
“Without hesitating” means going to God in prayer right away, not hanging back, looking for other solutions apart from Him for a while first, and not worrying that maybe He won’t hear or respond. Just ask! Just do it!
Rom. 14:23 “...whatever is not from faith is sin.” (NKJV)
“Without misgivings/doubts” means that there is no question in your mind as to whether God can help. God has the power to enable your mind to understand the situation such that you can find joy in obeying Him.
You might doubt your own ability to make it through the trial without bombing out;
and you might be unsure how God is going to answer,
and that’s o.k., but don’t doubt God. He is there, and He can do whatever He wants, and He has promised to give you a way through every trial (1 Cor. 10:13).
Proverbs 15:8 “...to the LORD... the prayer of the upright is His delight.” (NKJV)
Doubting God’s word and not trusting God for your salvation, takes you away from the solid rock of absolute truth and leaves you floating in an ocean of subjective relativity, without any point of reference except yourself. And when you’re not anchored to anything, the winds of circumstances or puffs of hot air from any old body can blow you every which-way.
The Greek word for “wave/surf” in v. 6 is only used in the New Testament to describe waves during a big storm (Luke 8:24), and it’s also the word in the Greek O.T. used to describe the waves during Noah’s flood (4 Mac. 15:31) and during Jonah’s storm (Jonah 1:4-12).
This relates to the word translated “unstable” down in v.8. That Greek word describes something that is not nailed down.
But our anchor is Christ (Heb. 6:19). Ephesians 4 puts God’s goal for the church this way: “[That] we – all of us – arrive into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, into being a mature man, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. In order that we might no longer be infants, tossed back-and-forth and carried about in every wind of teaching in the cunning of men in craftiness toward the deceit of straying, but by being truthful in love we might grow all things into Him, who is the head: Christ” (Eph. 4:13-15, NAW) If you pray for these things, you’re asking for what you already know God wants for you, and you can be sure He will provide them!
In 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah came to all the people gathered on top of Mt. Carmel, and said, "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." (NKJV) The Israelites had been led into the Promised Land by Yahweh, but now they were following Baal, but then when Yahweh sent fire from heaven to burn up Elijah’s sacrifice, they decided that the LORD must be God after all. But it wasn’t long before they abandoned Him again. That’s double-mindedness.
Paul also described something of the sort within the heart of a New Testament believer in Romans 7: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will [what is good] is present with me, but how to perform... I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Rom. 7:18-19, NKJV)
But later in James 4:8, we see that there is hope for double-minded people: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (NKJV) You can be cleansed if you draw near to God, confessing your sin and trusting Jesus to make you right.
Jesus also addressed this issue of “asking in faith” when He said, "...if you hold faith and are not doubting, not only will y'all do the fig tree thing [that is, make it wither like Jesus did], but even if y'all shall say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and be thrown into the sea,' it will happen." (Matt. 21:21-22, NAW)
Now faith limits us to asking for the right things and for the right reasons, so you might never actually see a mountain moved by prayer, but in the early church, some Christians were told by a pagan king that he would kill all the Christians in Ethiopia if they couldn’t prove this verse true by moving a certain mountain through nothing but prayer, and that’s when God actually moved a mountain in response to the prayers of His people. Its not a matter of whether or not God can do anything; it’s just a matter of whether we’re praying for the right thing at the right time.
Do you see how essential faith is in asking God for the wisdom to think clearly through a trial? And you’re also going to need faith in order to maintain the kind of eternal perspective it takes to get through a trial of faith!
So far, in the first 8 verses, James has issued 5 imperatives to “consider it all joy,” to “let endurance have its perfect effect,” to “ask for wisdom from God,” to “ask in faith,” and “not to suppose” that doubters will receive from God.
Next we have a sort of wisdom riddle with a command addressed both to “low” persons and to “rich” persons. Both are commanded to “rejoice/glory/boast/take pride” in something that belongs to them.
The command really does mean “to boast;” that is the way almost all English translations render it when it occurs again in James 4:16 “But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (NKJV)
So is James commanding rich and poor Christians to do something evil? No, this Greek word is also used in the New Testament to describe a kind of boasting that is good:
Philippians 3:3 “For we... worship God in the Spirit, rejoice[boast] in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (NKJV)
1 Cor. 1:31 (& 2 Cor. 10:17) But, "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord." (NIV)
If we boast about ourselves, it’s evil, but if we boast about God, it’s good. I believe that is one key to this wisdom puzzle.
But what is it that the lowly person has that he is supposed to boast about? The Greek word is “hupse” which means something that is “elevated” or “high up.”
Although the New Testament furnishes examples of poor people who were favored by God and rich people who were not, it also tells of rich people who were good Christians and poor people who weren’t, so the Bible does not teach Marxist class conflict. “Glorying in his elevation” can’t mean that poor people are automatically better than rich people or have a right to brag about that. So what does this “elevation” mean?
All five other times that this word hupse occurs in the Greek New Testament, it refers to “heaven3,” and heaven is something worth boasting about.
Later on, James says, “...Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (James 2:5, NKJV) The poor can be heirs of God’s kingdom! That’s something to crow about!
The Greek translation of the book of Job uses some of the same words from James 1:9 to make a similar statement about God: Job 5:11 He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.” (NKJV)
and that is very similar to what Jesus said in the beatitudes: "Blessed are the ones who are lowly in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” (Matt. 5:3, NAW)
I think that’s the idea behind this aphorism: those who are poor can inherit the kingdom of heaven, and, even in this life, can possess good things that come from heaven, including Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the love of God. And these are the things we should boast about so that Christ is glorified and believed-on by others in the world. James says, “Do that!”
On the other hand, if I am a rich person, what does James say to do? Boast in something low that belongs to you. Once again, what is that “lowly/humble” thing which can belong to a rich person that would be worthy of boasting about?
Nowhere else in the Bible does this word occur in relation to a rich person4, but I noticed that it is frequently translated “affliction,” and that reminds me of the context of this passage, “consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (NASB)
And when we look at chapter 4, we see a lot of corroboration: for instance in James 4:16 they are “boasting in [their] arrogance [ἀλαζονείαις],” so, in 4:10, James exhorts them with a verb form of the noun for “lowliness”: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” And who is he talking to? Profit-making merchants, according to v.13, who “spend a year [in a city], buy and sell, and make a profit," and he reminds them in v.14 of the same thing he reminds the rich back in chapter 1: “what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” and he concludes in 5:1 “Come now, you rich, weep & howl for your miseries [ταλαιπωρίαις] that are coming upon you!”
When their “riches have rotted and [their] garments have become moth-eaten… and [their] flesh is consumed,” the wealthy will be tried, as to where they put their faith, but if they heed the book of James, they will get an eternal perspective, put their faith in God and be “blessed.”
Other scripture writers wrote similar exhortations in their epistles:
Jer. 9:23-24 "...Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories [boasts] glory [καυχάσθω] in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth...” (NKJV)
1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God...” (NKJV, cf. Rev. 3:17-21)
Trials come upon the rich as well as the poor, and those who are wealthy should praise God when God intervenes in their lives and gives them opportunities to repent and trust in Jesus.
Moreover, we should boast about these trials – sharing with others that God loves us enough to discipline us and to develop us in our relationship with Him. That gives God more glory! I think James is encouraging the wealthy to do just that!
James goes on in vs. 10-11 to say that the wealthy must do this “because” of how quickly and easily our human life passes away.
James follows Job, Moses, David, and Isaiah before him in comparing our life on this earth to a wildflower5. When my family takes a walk in the woods, my children often find beautiful wildflowers, and they are so captivated by their beauty that, of course, they pick them, but by the time we walk back to the house, the flowers are all wilted and don’t look all that beautiful anymore.
For both the poor and the rich, faith in God is essential for a proper perspective on this life.
It will keep the poor from despair and self-pity over not having as many material things, because faith lifts our eyes to see that we have possession of the greatest of things that will last forever: God, the Son of God and His Spirit are truly ours eternally by faith, and so is heaven!
And faith in God will keep the rich from veering off into preoccupation with buying material things that can only be used for a few decades and losing out on eternal life. Faith will enable the rich to respond with repentance when God brings trouble into their lives due to their idolatry, and they can spread the good news that God loves sinners who ask Him to save them, and He gives eternal life which will never fade away.
James circles back to his thesis from verses 2-4 with a summary statement in v. 12: “A man who is steadfast/endures/perseveres in a trial is blessed, because, after he has proved himself genuine/tried-and-true/stood the test and been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord/God promised to those who love Him.”
Jesus “blessed” those who trusted in Him during his earthly ministry, from the little children brought to Him (Mark 10:166), to His disciples (Matt. 16:17, Luke 10:23, 24:50), and all the people who came to hear Him speak (Luke 6:22):
Notice how many of His beatitudes in Matt. 5:3-10 are framed within trial-like circumstances: "Blessed are the ones who are lowly in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are the ones who mourn, because it is they who will be comforted... Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” (NAW)
“Blessed” why? Because they placed their trust in Him in the midst of those trials, got “wisdom from” Him, and were able to maintain a healthy perspective on what is temporary vs. eternal, and were thus able to be “happy/blessed” in relationship with Jesus – to “love Him,” even during their trials. These are the ones who “receive the crown of life.”
James says that crown was “promised.”
Some of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible say that the One who promised the crown is “the Lord” and others say it is “God,” and a few just say, “He,” but it doesn’t make a difference in meaning, because they’re referring to the same person.
But when did He promise a crown of life? The only mention of a “crown of life” is in Rev. 2:10, which was presumably written decades after James, but it does contain the explicit promise from Jesus: "Do not fear any of those… trial[s]... which you are about to suffer... Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (NKJV)
And the apostles Paul and Peter also mention “crowns7” that we will receive in heaven.
But if we look at Jesus’ words uttered before the book of James, it is clear that Jesus made promises regarding eternal life, and I think James is referring to these promises using the term “crown of life” as synonymous with “eternal life8” - in fact, the Pillar New Testament Commentary calls this an “epexegetic genitive” where the word “of life” exegetes/explains what the “crown” is – it is “the life” – eternal life.
1 John 2:25 “And this is the promise which He Himself declared to us: the life eternal…” (NAW, cf. 5:11)
Titus 1:2 “...eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago” (NASB)
Matthew 19:29 “...everyone who left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields [or farm-lands] for the sake of my name, will receive a hundred times as many, and will inherit eternal life." (NAW)
Nowhere is this more evident than in the Gospel of John: 3:15 "...whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life…. 5:24 he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life… 6:27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you… 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand… 17:2 You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.” Clearly Jesus promised eternal life to those who believe in Him and love Him!
And that applies to us. Let us, “persevere” so that we get that “crown of life” - that eternal life:
Trust that Jesus is the Christ who is
the prophetic revealer of God’s word,
the priest who makes you right with God through his death and resurrection,
and your King who is your master.
Ask God in faith to give you the wisdom you need to understand how the testing of your faith produces steadfast endurance
and to give you the eternal perspective that rejoices in trials and that rejoices in your future possession of the kingdom of heaven.
And keep loving Him (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9)!
1 Tim. 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life...” (NKJV)
Byzantine |
NAW |
KJV |
Vulgate |
Murdock Peshitta |
1 ᾿Ιάκωβος, Θεοῦ καὶ Κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ, χαίρειν. |
1 From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One. Cheers to the 12 tribes which are in the dispersion. |
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are X X scattered abroad, greeting. |
1 Iacobus Dei et Domini [nostri] Iesu Christi servus duodecim tribubus quae sunt in dispersione salutem |
1 James, a servant of God, and of [our] Lord Jesus the Messiah; to the twelve tribes dispersed among the [Gentiles]; peace. |
2 Πᾶσαν χαρὰν ἡγήσασθε, ἀδελφοί μου, ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις, |
2 Start considering it to be all joy, my brothers, whenever you happen to encounter various trials, |
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; |
2 omne gaudium existimate fratres mei cum in temptationibus variis incideritis |
2 Let it be all joy [to you], my brethren, when ye enter into [many and] various trials. |
3 γινώσκοντες ὅτι τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως κατεργάζεται ὑπομονήν. |
3 knowing that the testing for genuineness of your faith has the outworking of steadfastness. |
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. |
3 scientes quod probatio fidei vestrae patientiam operatur |
3
[For] ye know, that the trial of your faith, |
4 ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω, ἵνα ἦτε τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι, ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι. |
4 But that steadfastness must have a complete effect in order that you may be complete with integrity, lacking in nothing. |
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. |
4 X patientia autem opus perfectum habeat ut sitis perfecti et integri in nullo deficientes |
4 And let patience have its perfect work, so that ye may be complete and perfect, [and] may lack nothing. |
5 Εἰ δέ τις ὑμῶν λείπεται σοφίας, αἰτείτω παρὰ τοῦ διδόντος Θεοῦ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς καὶ μὴB ὀνειδίζοντοςC, καὶ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ. |
5 Now, if someone among y’all is lacking wisdom, let him be asking from God – the one who gives to all generously without fault-finding, and it will be given to him. |
5 X If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. |
5 si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientiam postulet a Deo qui dat omnibus affluenter et non inproperat et dabitur ei |
5 And if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask [it] of God, who giveth to all freely, and reproacheth not; and it will be given him. |
6 αἰτείτω δὲ ἐν πίστει, μηδὲν διακρινόμενος· ὁ γὰρ διακρινόμενος ἔοικεD κλύδωνιE θαλάσσης ἀνεμιζομένῳ καὶ ῥιπιζομένῳF. |
6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who is doubting is wind-blown and tossed like a storm-wave at sea, |
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. |
6 postulet autem in fide nihil haesitans qui enim haesitat similis est fluctui maris qui a vento movetur et circumfertur |
6
But let him ask in faith, not hesitating: X he who
hesitateth is like the wave[s] of the sea, which the windX
X agitate |
7 μὴ γὰρ οἰέσθωG ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνοςH ὅτι λήμψεταί τιI παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου. |
7 so that man must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, |
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. |
7 non ergo aestimet homo ille quod accipiat aliquid a Domino |
7
|
8 ἀνὴρ δίψυχοςJ ἀκατάστατοςK ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ. |
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. |
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. |
8 vir duplex animo inconstans in omnibus viis suis |
8
who is |
9 Καυχάσθω δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ ταπεινὸςL ἐν τῷ ὕψει αὐτοῦM, |
9 But let the lowly brother boast in what is his that is on high, |
9
X Let the
brother of low [degree]
rejoice
in [that]
|
9 glorietur autem frater humilis in exaltatione sua |
9 And let the depressed brother rejoice, in his elevation; |
10 ὁ δὲ πλούσιος ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσειN αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ὡς ἄνθοςO χόρτου παρελεύσεται. |
10 but the rich in what is his that is lowly, because he will pass on like a grass-flower, |
10
But the rich, in [that]
|
10 dives autem in humilitate sua quoniam sicut flos faeni transibit |
10
and the rich, in his depression;
because, like the flower of an |
11 ἀνέτειλεP γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος σὺν τῷ καύσωνιQ καὶ ἐξήρανε τὸν χόρτον, καὶ τὸ ἄνθος αὐτοῦR ἐξέπεσε, καὶ ἡ εὐπρέπειαS τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἀπώλετο, οὕτω καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ἐν ταῖς πορείαιςT αὐτοῦ μαρανθήσεται. |
11 for the sun rises, together with the scorching-wind, and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its presentation perishes; thus also the rich man will be faded out in his pursuits. |
11
For the sun is [no
sooner] risen
with |
11 exortus est enim sol cum ardore et arefecit faenum et flos eius decidit et decor vultus eius deperiit ita et dives in itineribus suis marcescet |
11
For the sun riseth in [its] heat, and drieth up the |
12 Μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς ὑπομένει πειρασμόν· ὅτι δόκιμος γενόμενος λήψεται τὸν στέφανονU τῆς ζωῆς, ὃν ἐπηγγείλατοV ὁ Κύριος τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν. |
12 A man who is steadfast in a trial is blessed, because, after he has proved himself genuine, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love Him. |
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord [hath] promised to them that love him. |
12
beatus vir qui suffert temptationem quia cum probatus
fuerit accipiet coronam vitae quam
repromisit |
12
Blessed
is the man who endureth temptation[s];
so that when
he is proved
he may receive |
1When the father of the paralytic said, “I believe, help my unbelief,” Jesus didn’t reproach him for admitting weakness; Jesus answered his request because the man asked Him for help!
2The Apocryphal Wisdom 10:5 even asserted, “... she [wisdom] found out the righteous [Abraham], and preserved him blameless unto God, and kept him strong against his tender compassion toward his son [during his test on Mt. Moriah].”
3Luke
1:78 “...the Dayspring from on high has visited us”
Speaking of Jesus coming from heaven.
Luke 24:49 "...you
are endued with power from on high." Speaking of the
coming of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 3:17-19 “...to
comprehend… the height-- to know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge...” (NKJV)
Ephesians 4:8 describes
Jesus’ ascension to heaven as "When He went up into the
height..." (NAW)
And Revelation 21:16 describes the
heavenly city in terms of its “height” (among
other attributes).
cf. O.T. passages like Psalms 18:16, 102:19.
The LXX also uses it to describe God exalting the righteous (2 Sam.
22:34, 1 Chr. 14:2, Job 5:11) and to describe unrighteous human
pride (2 Chr. 32:26, Eccl. 10:5-6, Isaiah 2:17).
4The only other occurrences in the NT are Luke 1:48 (referring to Mary in her poverty); Acts 8:33, and Philippians 3:21 (referring to Paul’s body). As a result, a number of commentators (none in my bibliography, however) have suggested that James is assuming that the rich man is not a true believer and will therefore glibly dismiss the coming judgment. The cognate verb gives more relevant results, however, particularly in James 4-5.
5Job
14:2 “He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He
flees like a shadow and does not continue.”
Ps.
90:5-6 “...In the morning they are like grass
which grows up: In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the
evening it is cut down and withers.”
Ps.
103:15-16 “As for man, his days are like
grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind
passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no
more.”
Isa. 40:6-7 "...All
flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the
field. The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of
the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.”
1Pet.
1:24 "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as
the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls
away” (NKJV)
6Actually a different Greek word ευλογεω, but a synonym.
71
Corinthians 9:25
“Now every contender exercises strong control over all
things. They do so in order that they might receive a perishable
laurel,
but we an imperishable!” (NAW)
2
Tim. 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid
up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me
only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
(NKJV)
1 Peter 5:4 “Then after the Lead Shepherd
is revealed, y'all will obtain the unfading crown of
glory!” (NAW)
8Vincent and Robertson agreed, as did Faussett: “‘life’ constitutes the crown, literally, the life, the only true life, the highest and eternal life. The crown implies a kingdom.”
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies
of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online
edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.
BThe ancient Byzantine edition reads"ουκ" instead of "μη," but Nestle-Aland cites only three manuscripts which support this. Even the Textus Receptus supports μη, but they both mean "not," so there is no difference in meaning.
CCalvin:
“The word liberally, or freely, denotes promptitude in
giving…. he is ready ever to add new blessings to former
ones, without any end or limitation.”
Alford preferred
“simplicity,” writing that “God gives without
adding aught which may take off from the graciousness of the
gift.”
A.T. Robertson noted, “The evil habit of
giving stinging words along with the money is illustrated in Sirach
41:22 and Plutarch (Deut adulat., p. 64A).”
Douglass
Moo, however, commented that since Jesus’ sayings and Jewish
wisdom literature (on which James heavily relied) used this word to
mean “integrity/ sincerity” (noting that often this
Greek word is the translation for the Hebrew תמים)
“...the evidence suggests that James is not so much
highlighting God’s generosity in giving as his single,
undivided intent to give us those gifts...”
DRare word used only here and v. 23 and in the LXX of Job 6:3 & 25.
EThis is not merely a “wave,” but one formed during a storm on the sea. It is used to describe the waves that Noah encountered in the great flood (4 Ma. 15:31), that Jonah encountered in the great storm (Jon. 1:4, 11-12), and that Jesus and the disciples encountered on the Sea of Galilee (Lk. 8:24). Only other occurrences are 1 Mac. 6:11; Prov. 23:34; Wis. 14:5 & 19:7. Vincent commented, “κλύδων describes the long ridges of water as they are propelled in horizontal lines over the vast surface of the sea…” ATR added, “a dashing or surging wave.”
FThe
only other use of this Greek word is in the LXX of Daniel 2:35 “Then
once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the
gold, were ground to powder, and became as chaff from the summer
threshingfloor; and the violence of the wind carried
them away, and no place was found for them: and the stone which had
smitten the image became a great mountain, and filled all the
earth.” (Brenton)
A.R. Faussett commented, “driven
with the wind — from without. tossed — from
within, by its own instability…”
Vincent: “From
ῥιπίς, a fan. Anyone who has
watched the great ocean-swell throwing itself up into pointed waves,
the tops of which are caught by the wind and fanned off into spray,
will appreciate the vividness of the figure.”
GThis word occurs 22x in the LXX, but only twice elsewhere in the NT: Jn. 21:25 (“...I suppose the world could not contain…”) and Phil. 1:17 (“...supposing to cause me grief…”).
HVincent:
“Emphatic, and with a slightly contemptuous force.”
Moo: “‘That person’ is derogatory
language...”
IA minority of the most-ancient manuscripts omit “τι/anything” (Sinaiticus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, plus a few more recent manuscripts.) This could be because of the “ti” immediately following a word that ended similarly with “tai.” It’s in the majority of the oldest-known manuscripts, and the Vulgate and Peshitta do not omit it.
JRare
word only here and 4:8. Moulton & Milligan suggested that James
coined this compound-word and that it became popular in the early
church, making it an argument for an early date to this epistle. But
the idea is not new, for instance, the apocryphal Sirach 2:12 “Woe
be to fearful hearts, and faint hands, and the sinner that goeth two
ways!” (Brenton)
The next word is almost as rare,
occurring only here and 3:8, and in the LXX of Isa. 54:11 (“Poor
stormy one…”). It has a synonym, ἀστήρικτος,
found only in 2 Pet. 2:14 (“...cannot cease from sin,
enticing unstable souls…”) and 3:16 (“...
untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction…”
~NKJV).
K cf. related word ἀκαταστασία (“confusion”) in 3:16.
LVincent, Robertson, & Moo all asserted unequivocally that this means economically “poor” rather than spiritually “humble.”
M“James...
bids the lowly to glory in this, that they had been adopted by the
Lord as his children; and the rich, because they had been brought
down into the same condition, the world’s vanity having been
made evident to them.” ~John
Calvin, 1551 AD
“Those of low degree may rejoice, if they
are exalted to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of God (as
Dr. Whitby explains this place); and the rich may rejoice in
humbling providences, as they produce a lowly and humble disposition
of mind, which is highly valuable in the sight of God…. For
this reason let him that is rich rejoice, not so much in the
providence of God, that makes him rich, as in the grace of God, that
makes and keeps him humble; and in those trials and exercises that
teach him to seek his felicity in and from God, and not from these
perishing enjoyments.” ~Matthew
Henry, 1714 AD
“...the best remedy against
double-mindedness is that Christian simplicity of spirit whereby the
‘brother,’ low in outward circumstances, may ‘rejoice’
(answering to v.2) ‘in that he is exalted,’ namely, by
being accounted a son and heir of God... and the rich may rejoice
‘in that he is made low’ ... in that he is made, by
sanctified trials, lowly in spirit, which is true matter for
rejoicing.” ~A.R. Faussett, 1871 AD
“James…
exhorts each of them to look toward their spiritual identity as the
measure of their ultimate significance. To the poor believer…
James says: take pride in your exalted status in the spiritual realm
as one seated in the heavenlies with Jesus Christ himself. To the
rich believer… James says: take pride... in your humble
status as a person who identifies with one who was ‘despised
and rejected’ by the world.” ~Douglas Moo, 2000 AD
NThis noun in the N.T. only here, Lk. 1:48 (Mary, lowly servant blessed), Acts 8:33 (In humiliation Jesus was taken away), and Phil. 3:21 (Jesus will transform our lowly body to His glorious one), but it appears dozens of times in the LXX.
OThis word “flower” appears only here and 1 Pet 1:24 in the GNT, but several places in the LXX of the O.T.
PA.T. Robertson noted that the Aorist verbs in this verse (“Rises… withers… falls off… perishes”) are timeless gnomics. Moo also commented that they are “omnitemporal.”
QThe only other two places this word occurs in the GNT mention daytime, but not the sun, only the wind (Matt. 20:12; Lk. 12:55). In the LXX, this Greek word is mostly describing the hot, dry “east wind” (Hos. 12:2; 13:15; Jon. 4:8; Isa. 49:10; Jer. 18:17; 28:1; Ezek. 17:10; 19:12). cf. similar wording in Jesus’ parable of the sower: Matthew 13:6 “but after the sun rose up they were scorched, and, on account of not having a root-system, they were withered.” (NAW) Vincent agreed, so also Faussett: “The ‘burning heat’ of the sun is not at its rising, but rather at [after] noon; whereas the scorching Kadim wind is often at sunrise (Jonah 4:8).”
RPeshitta and a few renaissance-age manuscripts omit “of it,” but the text assumes that this flower belongs to it, so there is no difference in meaning.
SThis is the only occurrence of this word in the GNT, but 17x in the Greek Old Testament.
TOnly one other use in GNT: Luke 13:22 “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.” (NIV) Often translated “motion” in Brenton’s version of the OT in the LXX. Erasmus, following a very few Greek manuscripts removed one vowel to render πορίαις “with his riches,” and Calvin preferred this.
U Faussett: “...not in allusion to the crown or garland given to winners in the games; for this, though a natural allusion for Paul in writing to the heathen, among whom such games existed, would be less appropriate for James in addressing the Jewish Christians, who regarded Gentile usages with aversion.” (Vincent agreed, suggesting it denoted a priest’s mitre. Moo disagreed, as did Gill, who even suggested that it referred to the “Olympic games.”)
VThis verb is Aorist tense (“promised”), not Perfect (“has promised”). As for its subject, the majority of the oldest-known manuscripts (followed by the majority of Coptic and Russian versions) do not include a subject for this verb (“he promised”), and for this reason, the NASB almost brought itself to omit the subject, but couldn’t quite. The Latin and Syriac traditions, however, follow a dozen Greek minuscule documents which state “God” as the subject, and this is followed by the NIV (and the ESV followed the NIV as usual). But the vast majority of Greek manuscripts and lectionaries follow a minority of the oldest-known manuscripts which state “the Lord” as the subject, and this was followed by a minority of the Russian and Syriac versions as well as the KJV. I’m inclined to follow the latter, as it has the most Greek manuscripts and has been used from earliest times down to the present. But it doesn’t ultimately make a difference which is correct because “He,” “God,” and “the Lord,” all point to the same divine entity.